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Washington

12-29-2016, 02:24 PM

Just saying: Out of state for three nights; we'd parked our car at a Masterpark lot. We've had good luck in the past so were surprised to find our car windshield cracked on the driver's side when we picked up our car. Somehow our windshield was broken while on Christmas vacation and they expect us to drive away happy with their service?? They offered to refund our parking fee. The cost to replace the windshield is $400. We will park elsewhere for the peace of mind, next time. What would you do? We still want to be reimbursed. I'll update this if and when that happens. FYI: "It's not Masterpark's fault" What?

I just received Masterpark's reply:
" . . . The offer for free parking that was extended by the manager was an effort to ease the financial burden to repair the existing rock chip and is still available if you would like. Unfortunately Masterpark is denying the claim as my crew did nothing to cause the rock chip that ended as a crack in your glass. . . . "

This seems to me to be bailment although the ticket stub has disclaimers. There was no damage when we gave them our keys--the windshield had a two-foot crack when we came to pick up the car.

What does the disclaimer say? Generally parking lots/garages have disclaimers that they are not responsible for any damage to your vehicle while parked there.

If you want to pursue, you can try suing in small claims court.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Leo Buscaglia

Live in peace with animals. Animals bring love to our hearts and warmth to our souls.

Comment

It's going to be tough to prove their negligence and/or that it happened over the time they had your car unless you have a very very closeup dated picture of the windshield and can prove you had no existing chip. I don't know what kind of weather/temps there were or if the car was parked outside, but generally a large change in temperature can cause a chip to become a crack and it can grow quickly. Even if a chip that you had never noticed in the past. Do you normally park this car in a garage?

Did you leave your keys with them such that they would have been able to drive to get a chip/crack?

Were there rocks/gravel in the lot that could have spun up and hit your windshield while the car was parked? Was your car parked in such a way that gravel/rocks, etc could have hit it? Logically from what I know of parking lots, they park so close and so tight that I would think that scenario would be hard to happen. It would be more likely that your bumper or side got dinged than your windshield cracking.

And in the end I suspect that they, like Betty said, have a disclaimer regarding what damage they are responsible for.

(I've had multiple cars where the cracks have grown at random times -- so this is "normal" to me)

Comment

It's going to be tough to prove their negligence and/or that it happened over the time they had your car unless you have a very very closeup dated picture of the windshield and can prove you had no existing chip. I don't know what kind of weather/temps there were or if the car was parked outside, but generally a large change in temperature can cause a chip to become a crack and it can grow quickly. Even if a chip that you had never noticed in the past. Do you normally park this car in a garage?

Did you leave your keys with them such that they would have been able to drive to get a chip/crack?

Were there rocks/gravel in the lot that could have spun up and hit your windshield while the car was parked? Was your car parked in such a way that gravel/rocks, etc could have hit it? Logically from what I know of parking lots, they park so close and so tight that I would think that scenario would be hard to happen. It would be more likely that your bumper or side got dinged than your windshield cracking.

And in the end I suspect that they, like Betty said, have a disclaimer regarding what damage they are responsible for.

(I've had multiple cars where the cracks have grown at random times -- so this is "normal" to me)

The secured lot, handing over our keys, the employee doing the parking are considered "bailment." They had control. They took photos before they parked the car and I took photos before we took possession. The weather was mild and calm while we were gone. I suggest everyone beware of their refusal to accept responsibility for obvious damage in their care--however it happened. Of course it may have been an accident, not negligence. They "routinely clean their lot"--their lot is always packed so cleaning would be difficult.

Comment

You can pay yourself for getting the windshield fixed; submit a claim to your ins. co. (unless under deductible); or sue in small claims court.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Leo Buscaglia

Live in peace with animals. Animals bring love to our hearts and warmth to our souls.

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